‘Quest’ a worthy 8-year examination of one black family in Philly

Christopher and Christine’a Rainey, a.k.a. Quest and Ma Quest, are the subjects of a new documentary.

Christopher and Christine’a Rainey, a.k.a. Quest and Ma Quest, are the subjects of a new documentary.

Photo: ITVS

‘Quest’ a worthy 8-year examination of one black family in Philly

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In 2008, Barack Obama’s election as the first African American president gave hope to the residents of a tough, mostly African American neighborhood in North Philadelphia. In 2016, Donald Trump called such neighborhoods “war zones,” told African Americans he would fix them, and famously asked them, “What do you have to lose?”

As you might imagine, quite a lot.

With the backdrop of American politics far removed but ever present, Jonathan Olshefski’s “Quest,” a moving, quite amazing documentary filmed over the eight-year period between the two historic presidential elections, explains just how much the Raineys, a hardworking family in North Philadelphia, have to lose. It opens exclusively at the Roxie on Friday, Jan. 5.

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Christopher Rainey has many jobs, from delivering newspapers in the predawn hours to music producer, his calling. A former addict, he has been with Christine’a for more than a decade, and at the outset of the film, they finally marry. They have children from other relationships and one together, daughter P.J., who is about 10 when the movie begins.

When producing his music and co-hosting a radio show, Christopher goes by Quest, and he is the father figure for any and all aspiring rappers and hip-hop artists. It’s not a moneymaking enterprise, but more of a community program, providing an artistic outlet and a safe space from the streets. Christine’a, who bears the scars from severe burns suffered in a fire during her youth, is known as Ma Quest.

As the years unfold, Christine’a’s son William battles brain cancer, and P.J. loses an eye after she is hit by a stray bullet. Financial challenges are constant. Yet “Quest” has a spirit of peaceful resilience, and the result is a beautiful, quietly observant film of family love and strength.

Although Olshefski pointedly set his film between the presidential elections of 2008 and 2016, politics is rarely mentioned. We don’t know, for example, how the Raineys are able to afford the health care for William and P.J. for medical conditions that occurred before the Affordable Care Act. They have jobs, and the word “welfare” is never mentioned.

In this sense, “Quest” advances no political agenda at all. Not even when Christopher is pulled over by police and relentlessly questioned because he fits the description of a criminal at large (Christine’a films the encounter on her cell phone). The words “Black Lives Matter” are not mentioned, and gun control is never mentioned.

It’s as if Olshefski felt that such political ax-grinding would distract from the quiet heroism of the Raineys. The consequences of various laws and policies are not discussed, but felt at street level.

In 1973, PBS aired “An American Family,” a warts-and-all portrait of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, which became a national sensation and is now considered the first reality TV series. “Quest” could easily have been titled “An American Family” as well.